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NARP Urges Amtrak to Revive Sunset Limited Service to Florida

By Rafi Guroian | Wednesday, May 3, 2006, 04:16 PM

sunsetThe National Association of Railroad Passengers’ board of directors urged Amtrak Wednesday to restore service between New Orleans and Orlando, with connections to Palm Beach and Miami. The Sunset Limited, the only direct connection to western states from Florida, has been cancelled east of New Orleans since Aug. 24, 2005, days before Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. In its resolution, the board said Amtrak has in effect “discontinued” this service without following the rules and regulations for this procedure. Its refusal to restore this part of the line, it said, “is an affront to the people of this region, adding further insult to catastrophic storm-related injuries that the people of this region have already borne.” The tri-weekly Sunset Limited, which ran from Orlando to Los Angeles, was notoriously late, often arriving at destinations five to six hours behind schedule due to issues ranging from freight congestion, track work and track outages along the CSX Gulf Coast Line. The line was permanently disrupted when Hurricane Katrina ripped apart the CSX mainline along the coast. CSX has since rebuilt the line at an estimated cost of more than $250 million. Amtrak has remained quiet on the disappearance of the Sunset, despite the fact that CSX’s track, according to the passenger association, is in better condition today than it was before to the storm. Amtrak intercity spokesman Mark Magliari said that many of the stations are not yet usable. “In order to run rail service you need a rail route and station access,” he said, adding that no decision has been made on what services should be offered and that Amtrak has been speaking with transportation officials in Florida, Alabama Mississippi and Louisiana and the southern rail commission. Before its suspension, the Sunset Limited’s run between Orlando and New Orleans, which accounts for 28 percent of the line’s miles, generated 41 percent of its revenue.

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